“Then there was the Bardic event arranged with the manager of a Manx attraction who
left without telling me – and without telling his staff about the event. Fortunately I
contacted the venue to ask about last-minute arrangements only to be told that they
hadn’t a clue what I was talking about. At least I hadn’t turned up with robes and staff!” My Year as Manx Bard Page 65

But the Bard’s job’s more than
writing
Shaping text to rhyme and scan,
It’s promoting and highlighting
All that makes the Isle of Man.

If you want more information
On the Manx Bard, take a look –
There’s no need for speculation
As it’s all here, in this book…

My Year as Manx Bard

As regular readers of the Loaghtan Books free
online newsletter know, the junior partner was
appointed Fourth Manx Bard in August 2017.

Historically bards are very old but they largely
died out at the end of the middle ages. The concept
of the Manx Bard as a post to promote the Isle
of Man through poetry was the brainchild of Bridge
Carter and supported by Culture Vannin.
Performance poetry is very popular on the Isle
of Man and a Manx Bard seemed an excellent way
of turning that enthusiasm into a way of
celebrating all things Manx.
The Manx Bard is an annual appointment; the fifth
bard took over in August 2018.

The post is very much what the Bard makes it
and each Bard brings something different.
For Loaghtan Books’ junior partner the year passed
in a blur of presentation and poetry. Highlights
included talking to the audience from the stage
of the island’s premier theatre and writing a song
to raise money for Ramsey pier’s restoration work.
Audience sizes varied from over 300 to four!
Much was enjoyable, some was not, all was a new
experience.

Originally Loaghtan Books had not intended
to publish a book describing the year as we weren’t
sure there would be enough commercial interest.
It seems we were wrong! So, by popular demand, My Year as Manx Bard does exactly what it says
on the cover and describes the highs and lows of
the Fourth Manx Bard’s momentous year.